Eternal Forgiveness
by mvdiva
Summary: Anakin is greeted in the afterlife
1. An old love

He blinked heavy eyes and struggled for breath, savoring the last image of his son kneeling beside him.   
"Now go, my son…" He managed. "Tell your sister you were right about me…you were right." And his hands would no longer obey his command to grasp, and he sank back against the bulkhead; closing his eyes one last time on one world, and opening them on another.   
  
He went from slumping against a bulkhead in a dying ship to standing in the middle of a field of wildflowers. Their varied colors were so incredible that he passed a hand over his eyes in disbelief. Drawing his hand back, he realized that it was no longer a technological creation of synthflesh and metal, but his own hand, composed of flesh and blood.   
Marveling at this fact, he heard a voice calling his name from behind. As he turned, a warm breeze caressed his face; a sweet smell that somehow reminded him of Tatooine.   
Squinting his eyes to recognize the face approaching him, he took in the homespun clothes, the hair carefully pinned into a bun, and as she came close enough, the faint wrinkles around her eyes that deepened when she laughed.   
  
Standing in front of him, she held a hand up to make him pause. He held his arms out at his sides, and spun around so she could "get a good look at you, my boy." Satisfied with his appearance, Shmi Skywalker held her arms out to her son and he enveloped her in his arms.   
When he finally pulled away, Shmi smiled up at him (for now the tables were turned, and he was the taller of the two) and wiped the tears of joy from his own wrinkled cheeks.   
"Oh Anakin, my son." She said, smiling at him warmly. "You look exactly the same as when I last saw you." Laughing, he replied, "Time has been kind to you as well, Mother."   
As she hugged him again, Shmi murmured to his chest, "But Time has much to repent for, Ani. At least here, we are free from it." Pulling away, she patted his face. "But Time as you call it wishes for me to let you go, for now." At his protests, she put her hands on her hips; reminiscent of the times she had scolded him as a child. "There is another who is waiting for you here." Coyly she said, "I believe she will be just as happy to see you as you are to see her."  
Before he could take a breath to respond, she smiled at him, turned and disappeared. He decided to wait and see who this other was who wanted to see him, and picked one of the vibrant wildflowers that bloomed all around his feet. Inhaling its fragrance, he rubbed at one of the silky petals, thinking about the evening on the bridge when he had given Her a flower just like this one.   
Suddenly he heard a noise behind him and spun, thanking his Jedi senses for quick reflexes. And She was there, standing with her hands clasped in front of her, and hair immaculately in place, as if the warm summer breeze did not affect her.   
She smiled coolly at him, and dipped her regal head in greeting.   
"Hello Anakin." She said in the voice reserved for her Queen persona. "It's been a long time." Suddenly filled with the desperation that 20 years of separation can bring, he longed to step forward and take her in his arms. As if sensing his longing, she took a small step backwards, her silken robes whispering about her.   
He nodded and swallowed dryly, trying to think of something to say to her. Would his apology be enough? He couldn't even begin to imagine the pain he had caused her. The years before and after his turning would have driven away a lesser woman, but she alone had stayed; or tried to, at least. He closed his eyes to ward away the memory of their last goodbye. Tears had soaked her cheeks, and her pleas to him, her husband Anakin, to come back to her had haunted him even during the nights when he had existed as Vader.   
What was he to say to her now? A thought struck him, and he knelt in front of her, head bowed and eyes closed. He swallowed, hoping that inspiration would come to him and free his voice. Sensing movement above him, he opened his eyes and looked up from the ground.   
He realized that she had knelt in front of him, and placed her left hand on his shoulder. They froze there for a moment, both unsure as to what the other would do next. Temporarily swallowing his guilt and his fear, he raised his head all the way and met her eyes. The twin brown orbs that met his blue ones were warm, gentle, and swimming in tears that he longed to kiss away.   
  
"Amidala, my love..." He began, and stopped. What did he mean to say? He had caused her and millions of others worlds of pain. He had no right to ask her forgiveness. She was an angel, like he had first thought those many years ago when she first walked into Watto's junk shop as the unassuming handmaiden of a great queen. Her eyes captured his gaze, and looked deep into his soul. Then he knew that words were not required. He opened his mouth to say more, and she threw her arms around him, sobbing his name and burying her face in his shoulder.   
Bewildered and grateful, he carefully put his arms around her small body, and they kneeled there together in the field of flowers, united once again.  
  
  



	2. Healing

The characters in this story belong to George Lucas and his gang, not me. This chapter is in response to the requests for more from the responses I've gotten so far. (Does that make any sense at all? Oh well.) Enjoy!   
  
  
  
  
He held his beloved for what seemed like only a short time before he felt her hug weakening. It was then that he noticed a quiet humming between his ears. Pulling back to face her again, he gently wiped away a tear that trickled down from her left eye.   
She smiled at him, covered his hand with her own, and nuzzled it. He smiled as she kissed his thumb, but was puzzled when she stood.   
Holding out both her hands to help him up, they stood face to face. As she reached up to kiss him, the humming grew louder. Her lips were gentle and the kiss was just as he remembered it before the lava pit had claimed most of the feeling in his face.   
"I must leave you for a short while, Anakin," Amidala said, startling him out of his reverie. "There are others who wish to see you." She smiled, and the humming increased along with his first feelings of fear that the humming was linked to her leaving.   
"Will you be bac-" Her slim finger covered his lips, silencing his question. Once he quieted, she dropped both hands away and spun around in the field, laughing. As he watched, she turned transparent and then invisible, but her answer whispered in his mind. "Of course I will, my love…we will never be separated again."   
  
He stood watching the place where she had stood moments before, and noticed that the humming was closer. He turned slowly and saw the source of the noise.  
An older man was climbing up the hill towards him, the metal cylinder attached to the belt at his waist. Unlike Amidala, the breeze sent both his hair and robes swirling around him.   
Even from this distance, Anakin could see the large grin plastered to the man's face as he approached. The hum emanated from the man, who was practically shimmering in the Force.   
Biting his lip nervously, Anakin began to walk towards him. Obi-Wan looked just as he had when they last met on the Death Star; only this time Anakin wasn't seeing him through optical sensors and a facemask.   
He stopped a few feet in front of the grizzled old man, and they stared at each other for a heartbeat before Obi-Wan spread his arms and closed in to envelop Anakin in a hug and a hard clap on the back.   
"It is very good to see you again, old friend." Said Obi-Wan. "I knew he would find a way to bring you back to us." Momentarily confused, Anakin could only nod, and then an image of Luke looking down worriedly at him flashed before his eyes, and he understood.   
  
"He's a good boy. A Skywalker whose legend will precede him." Obi-Wan said, proudly. "After all, he managed to turn the great Darth Vader." Anakin blushed slightly, and found an interesting flower to look at near his right foot.   
"I was angry, Ben..." He began. "And nobody understood. I thought Palpatine could help me, but he kept the cloak over my eyes for such a long time that I, I..." Anakin spread his hands apart, trying to make Ben understand.   
Obi-Wan placed a comforting hand on Anakin's shoulder, but didn't say anything. "I shouldn't even be here, in this wonderful place." He continued. "All those people, gone because of me. I was so angry at what was happening to me, and then I lost her." He swallowed against the lump that came to his throat whenever he thought of that last tearful goodbye.   
"I did nothing to deserve this place. You should understand that." Anakin felt his heart lift when Obi-Wan simply shook his head and said, "No." Curiously, he looked up to see what was meant by that simple word.   
The old Jedi master was gazing down thoughtfully at his former padawan. "Anakin, your life is very special. No one else has ever had the chance to take back his or her life; but you did. And you saved many more lives in the process."  
  
Anakin stood for a moment, digesting what his master said. Finally, he nodded, accepting. Obi-Wan cleared his throat, and caught Anakin's distant gaze. "But there are still people that you can help, Anakin. Your son needs you, and whether or not she knows it, Leia does also."  
  
Frowning, Anakin wondered how he could help them now. Obi-Wan interrupted his thoughts. "The Emperor may be gone now, Ani, but Luke and Leia will still need to fight. Knowing that they have your support will be important." He cleared his throat. "Time lasts much longer here than in their world, Anakin, but now Time grows short, and there is another that must speak with you before Amidala returns."   
He drew back, and Anakin looked for the now familiar transparency that would soon take his former mentor away from him again. "Goodbye Ben!" he shouted to the disappearing form.   
  
Already he could hear small grunts coming from his next visitor over the edge of the hill...  
  



	3. Anakin's last mission

font face="courier"This is the third and final chapter to Eternal Forgiveness. I realize that some of the bits don't quite fit in, but just roll with it, okay? Cool. Oh yeah, all the characters belong to George Lucas, and I didn't make any money off this story. Yada yada yada./font  
  
  
As Anakin watched, a small green form slowly made its way up the hill. Even from a distance, he could see the intelligent look in the old creature's eyes.   
Walking forward from the place where he had spoken to Obi-Wan, Anakin found himself extremely nervous. He stopped about 10 feet away from the green one and waited.   
  
"Aid an old Jedi not, will you?" said his newest visitor. "Come, help I need." Realizing his error, Anakin stepped forward to help the creature from where his stick had gotten stuck in a soft patch of ground.   
When the stick was freed, Yoda shuffled his way over to a rock that Anakin hadn't noticed and sunk down upon it with a sigh of relief. He motioned for Anakin to join him, and when he was seated on the grass cross-legged, Yoda plucked a piece of grass, and held it thoughtfully between two knarled green fingers.   
He simply sat there, staring at the blade of grass and not saying anything. Anakin waited patiently for as long as he could, mentally reviewing what Amidala and Obi-Wan had hinted at...something that he had yet to do before he could permanently stay in this paradise? He bit his lip, deep in thought.   
A rustling drew him out of his reverie. Yoda had stopped staring at the blade of grass, and was now staring at him, through him, and into him.  
Not to be so easily dominated, Anakin met his alien gaze. They stared at each other until Yoda broke the gaze, waving the hand holding the grass in front of Anakin. Blinking furiously, Anakin rubbed his dry eyes.   
"See this grass, do you?" Yoda asked quietly. Anakin nodded. "It is a blade of grass only, yet see how it affects others." He held the grass out to a caterpillar crawling up a flower. When it stepped delicately onto the grass, he moved it over to a large luscious leaf where it immediately began to feed.   
"Help others, it can." He looked at Anakin, who was staring at the feasting caterpillar. "Even after death." With that, Anakin looked up; surprised.   
The blade of grass was already starting to wilt, perhaps under the teacher's stern gaze. Yoda placed it on the remains of the leaf next to the caterpillar, which crawled over and started chewing. "Your past can you redeem yet. Guide them, you can with mistakes," Anakin cocked an eyebrow. "Of which you have made many."   
A mental scream surfaced Anakin's mind. It was the voice of the young smuggler whom storm troopers had tortured in preparation of Luke's carbon freezing on Bespin city. Vader could hear his screams even through closed doors. The only sound that rivaled the shivers that went down his spine from that sound had been the cries of his own son under Palpatine's ministrations.  
Yoda paused, seemingly reading his thoughts. One question arose above the others, and when Anakin opened his mouth to give it voice, Yoda silenced him. "Time moves differently here. Calling to you, it is. Come, it is time." He stood up, gesturing for Anakin to do the same.   
Confused, Anakin did as he was told, the padawan learner once again taking direction from the master. Yoda led him to the bottom of Visitor's Hill, as Anakin had come to think of it.   
The hill stopped on a large flat plain, and a large body of water surrounded it; sparkling in the double suns overhead. Yet, Anakin saw none of this, for he had focused on the two figures waiting for him at the bottom.   
Amidala held out her delicate hands to him, and he rushed forward to grasp them eagerly. Yoda caught up to the small group, and moved to stand on Obi-Wan's right side.   
Anakin held her for a moment, until she whispered in his ear, "It is time for you to go." He pulled back, and saw her smiling gently. "Go to him now, Ani. He needs you." She let him go, and he turned to face his old teachers, looking for clarification.  
Obi-Wan clasped his hands in front of his robe. "Luke needs you for guidance now, Anakin. It is time for you to go to him." When Anakin tried to protest, he held up his left hand to stop him. "You may return after the Force has deemed your work complete." He smiled. "And you will have earned your place here.   
Anakin looked at Amidala, who smiled comfortingly back at him. "I'll be waiting." She said. He turned back to Yoda and Obi-Wan, and nodded his consent. "What do I need to do?" He asked.   
  
"Close your eyes." Said Obi-Wan. "I will tell you when to open them." Obligingly, Anakin did so; taking his last look on paradise. He felt a particularly strong breeze stir his Jedi robes, and then Obi-Wan's voice told him to open his eyes.   
When he did, the surroundings were such a drastic change that he took a small stumble backwards out of surprise. Obi-Wan's arm steadied him, and he realized where he was.   
They were standing in a jungle, yet they had no effect on it. A strange looking spider crawled right through Anakin's right foot, yet he felt nothing. Hearing a noise, Anakin looked up, and saw his son striding towards their trio slowly. He watched as Luke came to rest against a wooden post, and knew that he saw them. Beaming with pride with the sudden knowledge of what Luke had accomplished, they stared at each other through Time and the Force until Leia came over to bring Luke back into the celebration.   
Anakin stood there and watched his son and daughter receive congratulations from the various species that populated the forest. He knew Luke and Leia would need much guidance in the years to come, but that was the price of his eternal forgiveness, and after he had seen them on their ways, he would return to the hill by the water and to his Amidala, forever.   



End file.
